Whisper
by SteadfastSonnet
Summary: Post-Series fem!KuroFai one-shot fic set in Nihon; fluffy established relationship; both characters are rule 63ed; non-explicitly depicts female x female relationship (rated M just to be extra safe but the fic is smut free); same universe as (and alludes to) "Without Words"; fic requested by zelinxia via tumblr


**A/N: **Fanfic was requested by zelinxia (of tumblr, ,dreamwidth…etc) with the prompt: Post-Series Fem!KuroFai including the word "whisper"**; **Warning, this fic involves rule 63 characters mixed with uber-fluffyness and was written under the influence of sleep deprivation; **spoilers** for both the series and my other fem!KuroFai fanfic "Without Words"

There were excited whispers from all sides from the moment they walked in to the ceremony hall. There had been whispers when Fai and Kurogane had first arrived at Shirasagi countless months before too, but of a very different tone. When Kurogane was growing up in Suwa, she had seemed to know almost ever villager there. Even here, at the capital, lifelong residents were still likely used to having at least a passing familiarity with most of the faces they encountered in the crowded streets. Fai would have stood out in any context, Kurogane maintained, but against a sea of familiar, tanned faces and dark hair, people couldn't seem to help but stare at her. And whisper. Most of the whispers had been merely curious, but a few (and Kurogane was convinced by the extra wattage in Fai's smile after each and every one that she had heard them too) were distinctly suspicious and even hostile.

She'd kept up that friendly, untroubled façade the entire first day, until that night when they were alone in one of the castle's many guest rooms. Then, with only a little prodding on Kurogane's part, she'd admitted that all the attention made her uncomfortable. In the following weeks as they'd established themselves at Shirasagi, Fai could hardly take a step out of their room without some sort of unwanted attention. The faux-smile had remained intact seemingly every moment spent in the public eye during those first weeks, but Kurogane did not begrudge her the coping mechanism as long as she consented to drop the act when they were alone. She did (a sight that still inexplicably surprised Kurogane sometimes despite how different the witch was now from the troubled liar she'd been when they first met), so Kurogane did not press the issue again.

In time, real smiles outnumbered the phony ones, especially around Tomoyo-hime. The two of them had gotten along from their first meeting and, having now been reunited, spent many of their free hours talking together like old friends. Kurogane should probably have been more worried about two forces of mischief that strong colliding than she was – after all their association had resulted in more than a few pranks at Kurogane's expense. More important, however, was what Tomoyo-hime had given Fai, both in terms of companionship and her generous offer to teach her what she could of the miko techniques. She seemed to be getting better every day, but by Fai's own account, she would never be as skilled a miko as Kurogane's late mother. Even so, she had gradually become proficient enough that, with the addition of her already prodigious Celesian magic, she was more than qualified to be entrusted with the protection of her own province. Meanwhile, Kurogane had used her own spare time to organize resources and recruit settlers for the soon to be re-established Suwa Province.

And that was why they were here today, standing in the center of the ceremony hall with all eyes in their direction. From what Kurogane could tell, however, Fai currently couldn't care less about the others (now acquaintances and friends rather than strangers). She was beaming up at her, blue eyes so genuinely bright with joy that Kurogane could feel a lump starting to form in her throat from the sight. Kurogane swallowed hard and fiddled with the black silk sleeve of her furisode.

When Kurogane had mentioned to Fai many weeks ago that, in light of the upcoming ceremony, the two of them would need new formal kimonos, she hadn't quite bargained for the witch's earnest enthusiasm for color coordination and Nihon style symbolism, but in the end she had to admit the results were worth it. Not to mention, she _might_ have even had almost as much fun as Fai did during their late night brainstorming sessions – picking out motifs had been a different thing altogether from Fai's usual general enthusiasm for anything and everything pretty that Kurogane respected, but had never really shared. To Kurogane, clothing was practical or it was symbolic and she didn't terribly care one way or the other about its appearance beyond those two concerns. She had to admit, however, that the result of their long talks and many weeks of labor on the part of Shirasagi's weavers and tailors, were two kimonos that were simultaneously symbolic and stunningly beautiful.

Fai's outer kimono was made of powder blue silk, but just around the collar the red kimono underneath could be seen. On the blue outer kimono, a silhouette of white cherry blossom trees took up most of the space from the obi to the hem. Around the very edge was the outline of piles of fallen petals which, owning to their color, looked suspiciously like freshly fallen snow. The pattern wrapped around the back and ended at her shoulder where the head and claws of a black dragon seemed to emerge from behind one of the trees.

Kurogane's kimono on the other hand was a deep black (with a kimono in a matching powder blue underneath) and had a single enormous white dragon taking up most of the space on both the front and back of the garment. The only other object on the kimono itself was a single silhouetted cherry blossom tree that seemed to grow out of the sleeve that now rested over her mechanical arm. The color of the tree and its blossoms was the same brilliant red of Fai's under kimono and the falling petals' resemblance to drops of blood was anything but accidental.

Everything else about the pair's outfits matched precisely, from the way their hair had been swept into a identical updos (for Fai's hair was now long enough to put up even if Kurogane's was still significantly longer) to their elaborately tied golden obis – complete with a subtle pattern of crisscrossed feathers picked out in a darker shade.

The one thing the kimonos were not was practical. For one thing the obis took an exceptional amount of effort to tie. What this meant in practice was that Fai, who had been properly tying her own obi since that first awkward incident in Shara, now legitimately needed Kurogane's help to get dressed. If this was still Shara, where there was a buffer of lies and unaccounted for feelings between them, then they might have gotten through the incident with only flushed cheeks and a mild sense of disorientation, but this was home and they'd been sleeping together much too long by this point to ignore the way eyes (and tips of fingers) seemed to linger just a little too long on patches of exposed skin. They were just lucky that they had opted to get ready several hours before the ceremony was set to begin.

Not that Kurogane was complaining about the way that particular complication had turned out, but it might have been mitigated just a bit if Fai hadn't insisted on furisodes. Exactly how Fai had talked her into furisodes, Kurogane could no longer remember. Fai had had a perfectly valid sounding reason she was sure. Kurogane hadn't worn one since she was much younger and the sleeves certainly took getting used to (it was a sign of how blindingly happy she was on this particular occasion that she could force down the low level of anxiety at the thought of how much this particular outfit limited her ability to use a sword if it were to suddenly become necessary). On top of that there was another thought that had occurred to her on their solitary walk towards the main hall.

"You know the furisode sleeves make these kimono pretty useless long term."

"Why's that Kuro-chama?" Fai replied, the words sounding strangely accented in a way they never had while Mokona was around. Fai had taken to Nihon-go the same way she'd taken to all her other studies, and she'd begun to practice not long after they'd set off again from Clow, so by then she'd become impressively fluent. If it weren't for the accent and the occasional odd turn of phrase (or the seemingly gibberish nicknames she'd sometimes call her – what on earth Kuro-loo and Kuro-peteet translated to Kurogane was_ sure_ she didn't want to know) you wouldn't be able to tell it was her second (or was it third) language.

"Because after we get married we won't be able to wear them. They're strictly for unmarried women no matter how pretty…"

"After we get married?" Fai repeated, seeming to choke on the words a little.

Kurogane really hadn't been thinking about what she'd said before she'd said it. It's not like marriage was a surprising or premature direction for them to go after all they'd been thru, but the first time they discussed it should probably not have been a flippant comment about furisodes. Kurogane colored slightly, voice taking on a defensively gruff tone. "Of course, idiot. What did you think becoming the ladies of Suwa meant?"


End file.
